Posts by Ted Meissner
Episode 62 :: Peter Harvey :: An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics
Peter Harvey Professor Peter Harvey speaks with us about his book An Introduction to Buddhist Ethics: Foundations, Values and Issues. Hi, everyone. In our practice of the eightfold path, sila, or morality, plays a large part. Our ethical words, actions, and livelihood are the outward manifestation of our internal mental processes. But even with a…
Read MoreEpisode 61 :: Winton Higgins :: Tragic Vision
Winton Higgins Winton Higgins speaks with us about the First Noble Truth and Tragic Vision. Suffering. Dealing with it, how we engage or avoid it, is not new to Buddhism. And how a religion may treat it, can be very different from philosophical approaches to suffering. Winton Higgins began meditating and practising the Dharma in…
Read MoreEpisode 60 :: Fadel Zeidan & John McHaffie :: Modulation of Pain by Mindfulness Meditation
Dr. Fadel Zeidan Dr. Fadel Zeidan and Dr. John McHaffie join us to speak about their neurological study, Brain Mechanisms Supporting the Modulation of Pain by Mindfulness Meditation. Hi, everyone. One of the things we secular types are often faced with is that we want to see evidence. We may be a bit skeptical of…
Read MoreEpisode 59 :: Ethan Nichtern :: The Interdependence Project
Ethan Nichtern Ethan Nichtern speaks with us about The Interdependence Project. Taking new forms. Neither Buddhism, nor any religious form, is immune to the process of evolution. And what forms will those take in our contemporary culture? Much of that is based on communication, conveying messages across different media, and using technology to support that…
Read MoreEpisode 58 :: Rick Bateman & Tim Kiely :: Meetup Groups
Rick is the founder of the the website secularbuddhism.com. He is actively striving to form a non-profit organization for secular Buddhism, and currently teaches the Buddhism For Beginners course he developed in Victoria BC. He is an experienced instructor having taught a variety of technical courses in Camosun College’s continuing education program for several years. He has served as Vice President of Human Resources & Operations at an on-line learning company and is currently the Director of Operations for a local software company.
Read MoreEpisode 57 :: Bernie Glassman :: Socially Engaged Buddhism
Bernie Glassman Bernie Glassman speaks with us about Socially Engaged Buddhism, and the organization Zen Peacemakers. There are many different ways in which our practice can show itself. We can sit with a group at a local center. Go on retreats. Reach deep states of mental calm in meditation. None of which is a bad…
Read MoreEpisode 56 :: Kevin Griffin :: A Burning Desire
Kevin Griffin Kevin Griffin speaks with us about his book A Burning Desire: Dharma God and the Path of Recovery. Hi, everyone, thanks for being here. We’ve had guests on the podcast before who’ve spoken about how Buddhist teaching and practice have impacted addiction recovery programs, and often the subject of the classic Twelve Step…
Read MoreEpisode 55 :: Sam Trumbore :: Interfaith Dialogues
Sam Trumbore Sam Trumbore speaks with us about chess, secular spirituality, and the value of having interfaith dialogues. You ever find yourself talking with someone, and think you’re just never going to find any common ground? We have taboo subjects where this comes up quite a lot, religion and politics. How many of us avoid…
Read MoreEpisode 54 :: Toni Bernhard :: How to Be Sick
Raise your hand if you’ve ever gotten a cold. Felt run down. Had no energy. You’ve got the crud that’s been going around the office. Of course, we’ve all been sick in this way at some time in our lives. But even in that place of Nyquil-besotted sniffling and drowsiness, we’ve never really questioned whether or not we’d get better. We know we will, it just doesn’t typically come up as something to think about, and this confidence is one of the unsung heroes of making our illness tolerable.
Read MoreEpisode 53 :: Tom Clark :: Encountering Naturalism
Tom Clark Tom Clark speaks with us about his book Encountering Naturalism: A Worldview and Its Uses. How do we as secular Buddhists clarify that line between what we experience in the “real world”, and what we may tend to discount as mysticism? Secular practice does have that inclination away from the supernatural. We may…
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